Eternal Dance
by Princess Tyler Briefs
Summary: Sozen's comet arrives in just two weeks, and Aang is more than ready to go to battle against The Fire Lord. There is a snag in his plans, however, when it is revealed that he cannot win without the help of the child marked by the Ocean Spirit. It's a race
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Okay, there are three things you need to know before I get started. One is that "Broken Smiles" is on a temporary hold until I can rework the plot to fit in Mae and Tai Li.

Second, I really enjoy doing research; so let me know if I overdo an influx of background stuff.

Finally, this was inspired by something very simple. During the season finale, when Koh was explaining about Tui and La, I was convinced that Yue was the moon spirit, and Sokka the ocean. I wasn't right, and I hate it when I'm wrong, so…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That's copyrighted to Nickelodeon, and created by Brain-sama and Mike-sama. I wish I was one of them, but I'm not.

**Authoress:** Reggie

**Title:** Eternal Dance

**_Prologue_**

"Momma?" Sokka asked, gently touching his mother's shoulder with one small hand. Kira opened her ice blue eyes and looked into the small, round, anxious face of her six-year-old son. She sat up, the animal fur sliding off her shoulder.

"What's the matter, Sokka?" She asked gently.

"Had a bad dream," Sokka muttered, looking down at his bare feet.

Kira smiled, scooting over so there was room under the furs for the small child. "Come here, my little water sprite."

Sokka climbed up eagerly, curling up into his mother's arms. Kira shifted herself so she could hold the small child more comfortably, and smiled as Hakoda muttered in his half-awake state.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Mm-mm," Sokka said, shaking his head.

"Well then," she whispered, "what are we going to do to make it better?"

"Tell me a story?" Sokka asked hopefully, looking up at her.

"A story?" Kira half-laughed as Hakoda rolled over to listen better. "What kind of story?"

"A story about a warrior," Sokka said eagerly. She heard Hakoda take a breath as if to speak, and she kicked him to send the message that _his_ warrior stories weren't needed here.

"What if I tell you the story of the ocean and moon spirits?" She asked quickly, trying not to laugh as she felt Hakoda reach down to rub his shin.

"Are they warriors?"

"In a way."

"Okay then," he said brightly, snuggling up next to his mother.

"Long ago, at the very beginning of time, all the spirits still lived in the spirit world. They were ruled over by the Sun spirit. He was a terrible tyrant, and ruled the other spirits with his powerful fire.

The Sun had a beautiful daughter, the Moon spirit. The Sun was protective of his daughter, and kept her hidden away in the darkest part of the Spirit world where no one could find her and take her away from him.

One day the Ocean spirit, son of the great wolf, was out hunting. He chased his prey into the dark woods, and heard a beautiful voice singing. Curious, he crept through the wood, and came upon the Moon spirit. He fell in love with her immediately, and in his passion revealed himself to her. The Moon, frightened by his sudden appearance, fled from him.

The ocean chased her through the dark woods, calling her. Finally, she stopped. The two began to talk, and she fell in love with him as well. They met in secret for many seasons, and decided to overthrow her father and get married.

Their plan, though, was not as secret as they had supposed, for The Sun found out about it. Furious, he planned a way to get even with the traitors. He called the Ocean Spirit to him, and told the Ocean that he was to protect his daughter while he was away in the mortal realm. The Ocean Spirit readily agreed, and went to see his love.

However, The Sun changed himself into a terrible fire beast, and attacked the two lovers. The Ocean Spirit managed to wound the beast with his bow and arrow, but the Moon spirit was captured. In vain, the Ocean Spirit searched for her, but he could not find her.

The Sun, still in the guise of a beast, placed the Moon in an enchanted sleep before once returning to his true form and summoning the Ocean. He said because the Ocean had failed to protect his daughter, he was locked away in the deepest dungeon.

He then released his daughter from the spell, and told her that her lover had abandoned her. Heartbroken, the Moon refused to be comforted. She sought out the great wolf, and asked him if there was no healing from what his son has done. The old wolf did not believe his son had abandoned the young spirit, and told her that the best thing to do would be to give up her immortality. She would then be sent to the mortal realm, where her father could no longer get them. He would send a messenger spirit to find his son, and tell him to meet her there.

When the messenger spirit found The Ocean and told him what had happened, the Ocean became very angry. He challenged The Sun to a duel. The loser would be banished from the Spirit world into the place between the Spirit World and the Mortal world.

The two battled fiercely, which caused the whole Spirit world to tremble at their fury. The Sun used his awesome power to try and destroy the Ocean, but he fought back with his bow and arrows. After a very long time, the Ocean was victorious. He cast the Sun down out of the Spirit world, and placed his father as leader of the Spirits. He was still unhappy, however, and chose to give up his immortality to join his love in the mortal realm.

On his way to the mortal world, however, he ran into the Sun once more. He placed a curse on the Ocean that, although he could admire his daughter from a far, he would never be able to touch her. The Sun then went to mortal realm to reclaim his daughter and return to get back his throne.

The Great Wolf, however, saw the danger of this. He placed a spell on the moon that she would only be awake at night, and The Sun in during the day. No matter how hard the sun tried, he was never able to catch up to his daughter. There was nothing the Great Wolf could do for the lovers though as the curse was a terribly powerful one. Only a very strong magic could remove it, and so the two lovers danced eternally, trying to touch but never quite succeeding."

Sokka looked up at his mother, blue eyes wide. "And they can't ever be together?"

"No, little one, they can't."

Sokka's frown deepened, and he curled up further into his mother's arms. "That's not a very happy bedtime story, Momma."

Hakoda struggled not to laugh as Kira smiled down at her son, who still seemed lost in thought.

"Momma," he asked, after a moment. "The Ocean is still fighting The Sun, isn't he? That's why we have to fight the Fire Nation."

"Yes, I suppose that's right."

"Does that make him strong- to keep going so long?"

"I think so."

Sokka yawned, his eyes fluttering closed. "I'm going to be a warrior like that someday."

Kira kissed the top of his head as his breathing began to even out. "I'm sure you will, my little water spirit. I'm sure you will."


	2. Battle Plans

**A/N: **Okay, after the prologue the rest of this story takes place at the end of the book of Fire- so suppose that Zuko and Iroh have already joined up with Aang and company. Aang has also gotten over his fear of Firebending. Since Zuko has been with them for a while now, he and Sokka are more comfortable around each other than they otherwise would be. Got it? Good!

**_Chapter 1: Battle Plans_**

Sokka dumped the sticks he'd gathered by the fire with a slight scowl. He looked at Katara as she sat swirling water in a pot to make it boil faster.

"Why is it," he asked his sister as he crossed his arms over his chest, "that I'm the one that has to pick-up Aang's chores when he's practicing as well as doing my own?"

"Who do you suggest do them then, smart guy?" Katara said without looking up.

"Iroh could," Sokka said, pointing to where the man in question was lounging on Appa's side taking a nap.

"So, you want to pawn your chores-"

"Aang's chores."

"Off onto an old man?"

"He's not as old as he'd like you to think," Sokka muttered, pulling his boomerang out of its sheath. "I'm going to get Aang and the royal pain-in-the-butt."

"Play nice, Sokka," Katara said, more out of habit than concern for anyone's well being. Sokka didn't respond, but walked toward the meadow where Aang and Zuko had earlier been working on the Avatar's Firebending.

He didn't see them immediately, and so was understandably surprised when flame shot out of the tree above him and toward his head. He dropped to the ground and rolled, coming out of his maneuver facing the tree and in a battle ready position.

"Oops. Sorry, Sokka," Aang yelled, dropping down next to him. "I thought you were Zuko."

"Well I'm not," Sokka responded, a bit agitated by the attempt on his life. He looked around, but saw no trace of the exiled prince. He scowled as he turned to face Aang again. "Where's his majesty anyway?"

Aang opened his mouth to answer, but he didn't have to as Zuko dropped out of a tree and knocked Sokka to the ground.

"Never turn your back on an enemy, peasant."

"I hate you," Sokka said, not bothering to get up just yet. "What were you two doing anyway?"

"Playing a game," Aang said happily.

"Training," Zuko said quickly at the same time.

Sokka smirked as he got up, dusting himself off. "Right. Well, Katara says that dinner is nearly ready, and…"

"Food!" Aang said, using his airbending to zoom back toward camp and leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

"You need to wash up." Sokka finished.

Zuko closed his eyes and shook his head solemnly. He looked at Sokka with a small frown on his face as he spoke, "and he's the one destined to save the world?"

"Tragic isn't it?" Sokka said, his tone just as serious, as he started to walk toward the river. Zuko followed him, and the two were quickly washed up for dinner. They entered camp to find Iroh already happily eating his possum-chicken stew while Aang ate the steamed plants Katara had been preparing when Sokka left her.

Sokka took his bowl eagerly from his sister and launched into his dinner with much gusto.

"It's not going anywhere, peasant," Zuko sneered as he took his bowl as well. Sokka stopped his eating to scowl at him.

"Hey, I worked hard today. I caught the food, skinned it, **_and_** got the firewood. I deserve to enjoy it. You…all you did was _play a game_."

"We were training," Zuko growled.

"Since when is hide-and-seek a training tool?"

"It wasn't hide-and-seek," Zuko snapped, but he was unable to come up with anything else to say. Sokka grinned in triumph and began to eat again.

"Right," Aang spoke up in a way that made it obvious he thought he was being helpful. "It wasn't hide-and-seek. It was tag."

Sokka snorted into his stew, inhaling a great deal of the broth as he started to laugh. Zuko scowled at Aang and looked tempted to throw something large and heavy at the young Avatar.

"I'm glad to hear you two where working so hard," Katara giggled, giving Momo some of the leaves from her stew.

"Running is an essential part of fire-bending training," Iroh said seriously, though a smile tugged at the corners of his moth. Zuko shot him a last scathing look as he tilted his head back to look at the now dark sky.

The giggling had subsided by the time Zuko looked down again, his face in a deep frown now. "Uncle," he said softly, looking over at his relative. "You can see it."

"See what?" Aang asked as Iroh looked up, frowning as well.

"Sozen's comet," Iroh answered in an angry tone. Sokka, Katara, and Aang all looked up at the sky anxiously.

"I don't see anything," Katara said after a moment.

"Right there," Zuko said, pointing. Sokka followed his finger with his eyes and squinted up into the endless plain of stars. If he hadn't had Zuko to point out the small smear of white, he never would have seen it himself.

"How long until it's close enough for you to use?" Sokka asked gravely, looking away from the sky and over at Zuko. The exiled Prince looked at him evenly, his face and tone betraying nothing.

"Two weeks. Three at best."

Sokka's jaw dropped as both Aang and Katara looked over at Zuko in shock.

"What!"

"No way!"

"Only two weeks?"

Zuko just nodded at them, and a solemn silence settled over the small group for several long moments.

"Well," Aang said with forced cheerfulness, "I've almost mastered all the elements, and all our friends have promised to fight with us. We're ready to fight the Fire Lord!"

"It is not as simple as you think," Iroh said calmly, sipping the broth of his stew.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

Iroh looked at them, his face as grim as they had ever seen it. "There is still one more thing you need before you will be able to defeat the Fire Lord completely."

"One more thing?" Aang groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Why did no one mention this before?" Sokka demanded, scowling at the old firebender. Two weeks was certainly not enough time to do whatever it was they were going to have to do.

"Because it has been a secret well-kept by my family for many years," Iroh said, setting down his bowl. "Before you can defeat my brother, you need to find the child born of the Ocean Spirit."

Looks of confusion were exchanged around the fire. Even Zuko didn't seem to have any idea what his uncle was talking about. Noting this, Iroh sighed and sat up straighter in preparation to tell his story.

"My grandfather took the appearance of the comet to be a sign from the Sun Spirit that the Fire Nation was destined to rule over the other nations just as the comet ruled the stars. For fifty years, we believed this to be true as there had been no sign of the Avatar and many victories.

My grandfather was a very old man when a well respect seer entered his court. I was fifteen then, and my brother just five years old. She came in and Sozen about a dream she had had the night before. In it the Avatar had returned as an Airbender, and with him- she said- a child born of the Ocean Spirit. You see, according to legend, the Ocean Spirit was the only one to have beaten the Sun Spirit in the past, and she said that with help from the moon he would do it again. She told how, with their combined strength, the two had overthrown the Fire Lord and restored balance to the world.

That was when Sozen resumed his search for the Avatar, and swore all those who had heard the warning into secrecy. If the public found out that he had failed in his attempt to destroy the Avatar, they would denounce his war and possibly attempt to overthrown him. He also began a search for the Ocean Spirit Child, and attacked the water tribes with more energy than before."

"That's nonsense," Sokka said after he had had time to process this information. "No one can see into the future."

"Maybe not," Iroh allowed, "but Ozai believes it fully- especially now that the Avatar has been found. That is why he was so eager to attack and conquer the North Pole. If the Avatar does team up with this child, he knows he is doomed. If you show up without, Ozai will believe he will be victorious and thus much harder to destroy."

"That's why I'm the only Waterbender in the South Pole, isn't it?" Katara asked in a frightened whisper. "He had all the other Waterbending children killed."

Sokka looked away as Iroh nodded.

"For many years, both my father and Ozai ordered attacks on the Southern Water Tribe to kill any Waterbending children they found there."

"_Don't hurt him! He can't bend! He's of no threat to you!"_

Sokka closed his eyes tight, trying wordlessly to force the sound of his mother's voice out of his head. He could feel Zuko's eyes on him, and he didn't want to look weak in front of the other teen.

"All those children," Katara whispered in a trembling voice, and Aang put a gentle hand on her wrist for comfort.

"_He's just a child, please. If you must kill someone, kill me."_

"How are we supposed to find this child in two weeks?" Zuko demanded, pulling Sokka back to reality. The water tribe teen scowled as he threw another stick on the fire.

"We can't," he said angrily. "Even if this child existed he wasn't at either pole. He would have shown himself at the attack on the North Pole if he'd been there, and the only Waterbender back home is Katara. That leaves every other water bender in the world, and they're to scattered for us to locate them all in time."

"Then what do we do?" Katara asked. Aang and Zuko looked down, both thinking.

"We pretend we've found him," Sokka said darkly, picking up another stick.

"How does that help?" Aang asked.

"Look, the only reason we even need this kid is to fool the Fire Lord, right? To fool him, it doesn't necessarily have to be the right person. We just need to pick a Waterbending boy from all the people have promised to help us fight and ta da, we have what we need."

"But don't you think we should at least try?" Katara demanded.

"Well, where do you suggest we look?"

"There's a village a few days walk down the coast," Aang said. "Bumi once told me there were a few waterbenders there. Maybe we could go look?"

"We don't have time to waste on such useless tasks," Zuko said angrily.

"Besides, someone needs to get to Ba Sing Se and tell them that we don't have much time left."

"That wouldn't take all of us," Katara shot back reasonably. "It only takes one person to find Appa. The rest of us could go down the coast and see if anyone in the town might know about the child. We could meet at the town in five days."

"You're suggesting we split up?"

"Yes."

Sokka and Zuko exchanged doubtful looks, but Aang sat up hopefully.

"I think that's a great idea, Katara. We're going to need all the help we can get in this battle, and if there's any chance of finding someone who can help me…"

"Alright, fine," Sokka said, holding up his hands in defeat. "So, who is going to go all alone to Ba Sing Se then?"

"I will go," Iroh said happily. "I would only slow you down anyway."

Zuko made a noise of amusement, but Aang just nodded.

"Okay, then it's settled."

"Great," Sokka muttered. "We get to go on yet another wild goose chase. Do these never end?"

"Nope," Katara said, crawling toward her sleeping bag. "But lets try and get some sleep. We're going to want to start out early tomorrow morning."


	3. Further Complications

**A/N:** I'm glad that you all liked the first chapter so much! I don't believe in dragging out the plot, but let me know if the pace is to fast.

**_Chapter 2: Further Complications_**

The sun rose on a clear day the next morning, and the group had already seen Iroh off and had been walking for nearly an hour before the sun cleared the top of the trees. Aang, Katara, and Momo walked in front, while Sokka trudged sleepily behind them.

When he noticed that Zuko was lagging further behind, Sokka slowed down slightly so he was walking beside the Prince.

"Come on, sleepy head," Sokka teased, "you wouldn't want to get left behind."

"This is stupid," Zuko muttered. "We don't have time for any of this! We should be training, preparing. Not going to look for some useless child!"

Personally, Sokka agreed but he chose instead to defend the current arrangement, as there was no way to change it now. "Look, any psychological advantage we can get over the fire lord is a good thing for us. Heck, an advantage we can get is good."

"If you really think my father will fall for something like this, then you're a fool," Zuko mumbled, shifting the weight of his pack slightly.

"I'm not saying whether he will or won't," Sokka reasoned. "I'm saying if he does then we'll have a powerful advantage."

"How? We won't find this ocean child. How is putting someone fake in his stead going to help at all?"

Sokka tapped the side of his own head with his pointer finger and smiled. "You underestimate the power of the human mind to be self-defeating."

Zuko raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner, and Sokka sighed.

"Look…have you ever really wanted something so badly that you were willing to believe anything so long as it was true?"

Zuko looked at him evenly for a minute, as if deciding whether or not Sokka was trying to get him to admit to something. Once satisfied that there was no trick behind the statement, Zuko nodded.

"The human mind has the power to do that," Sokka said, looking ahead now. "It will believe in something to its own defeat."

"Meaning…"

"If you believe you're going to die at a certain time, you will simply because you believe it. The Fire Lord believes he'll be defeated if we have all the pieces. We know this from all his efforts to destroy the water tribes."

"So?"

"So, if we don't have at least representations of everything we need, he'll think he's invincible and consequently will be. The reverse is true also. If we have all that we need, or at least the appearance of it, he'll think his defeat is inevitable and allow us to win subconsciously."

"Or he'll fight that much harder."

"Oh come on," Sokka sighed, looking at Zuko again. "You're just determined to see the worst in this situation, aren't you?"

"I know it's your job regularly, but you seem a bit distracted."

Sokka scowled, adjusting the weight of his bag so his boomerang was easier to reach. "Look, I'm not exactly happy about this either, but there's nothing we can do about this. Katara and Aang are determined to at least try, and we can't just leave them alone."

"You don't trust them alone, do you?"

"No."

"Your sister is a good fighter, peasant. She's mastered her element."

"She's still my little sister. I have to protect her no matter what."

Zuko fell silent at this, and Sokka suddenly felt uncomfortable. He'd forgotten about Zuko's relationship with his own little sister. Shifting his weight, Sokka forced himself to grin. "Come on. Let's catch up to them."

Zuko grunted, but kept up with the pace as Sokka walked a bit faster to catch up to the three in front.

"But Katara," Aang was saying as they caught up with them. "Momo's hungry already."

"Then Momo can find his own food," Katara said, obviously exasperated as the little lemur leaped from Aang's arms onto her head. She sighed, and pulled him down again.

"Well I'm hungry too," Aang sulked, and Sokka had to struggle not to laugh.

"You'll survive until lunch," Katara said. "We don't have time to stop and eat every few hours."

Aang sighed, nudging a rock with his foot, as Momo leaped from Katara's arms after a bug.

"We should have sent the rat with Uncle," Zuko muttered, and Sokka snickered in agreement.

They had only walked a few more feet when they heard Momo give a shrill cry. All four kids whirled around to see the small white animal flying toward them with a ball of fire on his tail. Zuko pushed Sokka down, caught Momo, and then used his own bending to break the ball with a shield of heat of his own.

"Ow," Sokka said, rubbing his elbows as he sat up, "hey!"

"Don't complain, peasant, I just saved your life."

"Did you have to throw me down?"

"You guys," Katara yelled, already running down the path, "this really isn't the time!"

Sokka scrambled to his feet and pulled out his machete as Momo climbed up onto Zuko's head.

"Fire nation soldiers?" Sokka asked after a minute. Zuko gave him a disbelieving look, which Sokka returned with a grin. "You guys have the worst timing."

"We also have rhinos," Zuko muttered darkly as he jumped over a tree root.

"Oh," Sokka said as he ducked under a tree branch. He didn't even see that Aang had stopped in front of him until he collided into him and both of them fell to the ground.

"What's going on?" Zuko demanded. He'd managed to stop before hitting Katara, but only just and Momo had been thrown off his head in the process.

Katara didn't say anything, instead pointing grimly to the only way across the small canyon they had come to. Sokka and Zuko both looked over to see a rickety old rope bridge spanning the space. It was swinging in the slight breeze, the old boards creaking with even that much movement. The ropes were frayed in several places, and one of the boards looked to have completely rotted away.

"Great," Sokka muttered, disentangling himself from Aang and crawling over to the edge of the mini-canyon. The morning mist still clung to the shadowy place, and it was impossible to tell whether the ravine was twenty feet deep or two hundred.

"Can we climb down?" Zuko demanded, getting uneasy as the sound of rhinos could be heard coming closer.

"The side are too steep," Sokka said, dropping a rock over edge. He listened, but couldn't hear it hit the bottom. He looked up solemnly at the rest of the group, "and I wouldn't recommend jumping either."

"We're going to have to cross," Zuko concluded, starting toward the bridge. Katara grabbed his arm, a worried expression on her face.

"What if it doesn't hold?"

Zuko looked in the direction they had come from. The sound of the large komodo-rhinos was drawing ever closer, and now they could hear the shouts of the soldiers urging them faster. He looked at Katara with a frown. "It's going to have to."

He started onto the bridge, but had only gone a few steps when the twang of a few dozen bows being released filled the air. All four teens ducked as flaming arrows shot out of trees on the opposite side of the chasm.

"It's a trap," Aang yelled as one of the flaming arrows zoomed by the already breaking ropes and caught it on fire. The snapping of the rope fibers filled the air as the bridge shook slightly.

"Now what?" Katara asked, standing up again.

"We still need to get across," Zuko said, looking determined as he stood as well. "We stand a better chance against the archers than the rhinos."

"Can't you at least put out the rope?"

"It wouldn't matter. It's going to break either way now, and I don't want to waste the time we could use to get across."

Aang nodded, and used his airbending to jump over Zuko and land in front. Using his staff, the young Avatar began to block arrows that were aimed at them as they ran. Katara followed close behind Zuko, preparing her water skin for the battle that awaited them on the other side, with Sokka bringing up the rear.

He was about half-way across the bridge when he heard the sound of rather distressed chirping behind him. Turning around, Sokka couldn't help but groan as he realized they'd forgotten Momo. He ran back across the bridge to where the little lemur was hissing at the now rattling foliage, and just managed to pick Momo up as the soldiers and their mounts broke through. One of the soldiers threw a spear at him, but Sokka blocked it with his machete before turning and running back across the bridge.

"Someday, Momo," Sokka growled as he approached the middle of the bridge for the second time, " I'm going to save myself the trouble of having to rescue you and just cook myself a big pot of lemur…"

A soft whistle in the air was the only warning Sokka had before white-hot pain shot across his shoulder. As he fell to his knees with a yell of pain, dropping Momo to grab his shoulder where the arrow had grazed him, Sokka realized too late that Aang had gone on too far ahead to protect him from the arrows any more.

Momo began meeping shrilly as he raced for the other side, and it was this noise that got Katara's attention. She stopped her battle with one of the archers and looked up to see her brother kneeling on the bridge, his face pale with the pain from his wound.

"Sokka!" She yelled, knocking the man over with her water before rushing to her brother's aid. Sokka looked up at the sound of his name and let go of his shoulder to motion her away.

"Katara, go back! It's not going to hold much longer!"

"I'm not going to just leave you here," she protested, kneeling beside him to see if she could help him stand. The bridge groaned, and Katara looked up to see one of the soldiers guiding his rhino onto the bridge.

"Stop it," she yelled to them. "It's going to fall!"

They ignored her however as first one, then another made their way onto the bridge. It groaned and shuddered with each new step of the beasts. It could take no more as the last of the four stepped onto the bridge.

Katara barely had time to register the stupidity of this action before there was another loud snap and the bridge beneath her feet tilted. She gave a startled yell as she began to fall.

"Katara!" Aang yelled, turning to see his friend in danger, but unable to reach her as he tried to fight off another archer that attacked him while he was looking her way.

Katara closed her eyes, preparing for the fall and listening to the yells of both the soldiers and the beasts, when she felt a handclasp around her wrist. She looked up to see that Sokka had grabbed onto the rope on the side that hadn't been burning with his injured arm. She could see that his face was contorted in pain from the effort, but she held onto his wrist tightly.

"Can you pull yourself up," he managed to ask, tightening his hold on her wrist. Katara tried to swing her foot up onto the tilted bridge, but Sokka gave a gasp in pain as she moved, and his hand slid down the rope. They both yelped before Sokka managed to catch himself again.

"This isn't going to work," Katara said, looking tearfully up at her brother. "You're arm will give out first."

"Don't worry," Sokka said through gritted teeth. "Aang and Zuko will be here soon."

Katara looked over at the two boys in question, and could easily see both were being overpowered by the sheer number of enemies on that side and wouldn't be able to come to their aid any time soon. She looked up at the evident pain in her brother's face, and something inside her steeled itself for what she realized she had to do. She loosened her grip on her brother's hand.

Sokka's eyes immediately snapped open wide. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm saving you," Katara answered, trying to pull her hand a way a little more. Sokka's grip tightened.

"I won't let you!" He yelled down to her. She could see that saying those words hurt him, but how and why she couldn't tell. Instead, she continued to look up into his eyes.

"If I don't we'll both be killed!"

"There has to be another way!"

"I'm sorry, Sokka," Katara said, "I have to do this…" Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and let herself go completely limp. Her dead weight was too much for her brother's grip, and she could feel herself falling.

"No!" Sokka yelled, his eyes wide as he watched his sister disappear soundlessly into the mist. "Katara! KATARA!"


	4. Azula's Dilema

**A/N:** First of all, I apologize for how long this chapter took. Finals took priority, and Azula just kind of doesn't like me writing her or something, as she was being difficult. Secondly, the new episode on Friday may have made this story impossible…so it's AU now but I don't care. I like it anyway, and I'm going to finish it. Also, I'm stubbornly sticking to my spellings for the names of Azula's friends. I know technically they are Ty Lee and Mei, but I like Tai Li and Mae better. That is all.

**_Chapter 3: Azula's Dilemma_**

"Katara! KATARA!"

Zuko looked up at Sokka's yell, seeing the situation on the bridge for the first time. All he could see was Sokka hanging there and screaming his sister's name into the chasm below him. It took him a second to process what it meant.

He glanced over at Aang to see the young Avatar had frozen in place, his breathing coming in short ragged gasps as he stared at the bridge with wide eyes. One of the archers that he'd been fighting lifted his weapon to attack him, but as his weapon got close Aang's tattoos and eyes began to glow.

"Great," Zuko muttered, ducking at the last second as a sudden blast of wind began to move the air around him. Several of the archers that had been attacking him were knocked instantly to the ground as the young Avatar began to lash out at them with his airbending. Zuko frowned and glanced over at the bridge. It was swinging in the sudden wind, but Sokka didn't seem to be making any effort to get off before the rope he was holding snapped. He appeared to still be yelling, even though Zuko couldn't hear him anymore.

"Aang!" Zuko yelled. "Stop! You're going to make it worse!"

Aang, who was now attacking the remaining archers, didn't seem to hear him at all. Zuko groaned inwardly and looked around. He saw one of the fallen archers had a rope attached to his belt. Crawling over, he grabbed it and knotted it around his waist. He then tied it around a near-by-tree, and struggled to make his way through the crosswinds.

Once he'd reached the edge of the canyon, he swung around so he was inching along the top of the bridge, hands on the rope and feet on the now vertical wood, and looking down into the mist below. The bridge was swinging wildly beneath him, and Zuko had to hold on with a white-knuckle grip.

"You better appreciate this, peasant," Zuko growled through his teeth. Moving a little at a time, Zuko inched over to where Sokka was still barely hanging.

Zuko shifted his weight slightly, tightening his hold on the rope with his right hand, and lowering his left down toward the boy beneath him.

"Take my hand," Zuko yelled down.

"Katara, no!" Was the only response he got. Whether it was because Sokka couldn't hear him over the wind or because he was too lost in the moment to pay attention to him, Zuko didn't know.

"Peasant," he snapped, leaning down as far as he dared. "I'm trying to save you again. Take my hand!"

Sokka didn't respond at all this time, and his hand slid a few centimeters down the rope. Angry now, Zuko made an attempt to grab onto the other boy's ponytail.

"Sokka! Take. My. Hand!"

That got Sokka's attention. He looked genuinely surprised to see Zuko as he looked up at the older boy.

"Take it," Zuko said, stretching his fingers down. Almost numbly, Sokka reached up with his uninjured limb and took hold of Zuko's hand. As soon as their hands locked, the wind died down. Zuko glanced over to see Aang, now alone, collapse onto his knees.

Zuko pulled Sokka up, and together the two boys climbed back across. Once they were on solid ground, Sokka sat down heavily and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"What happened?" Zuko demanded as Momo ran over to Sokka and gently nuzzled the boy's hand with his head. "What where you thinking? I told you that bridge was dangerous! I told you it wouldn't hold! I told you we had to hurry! What where you doing still on it?"

"Zuko, stop," Aang demanded, looking at Sokka with some distress. Zuko took a good look for the first time too, and was a bit taken a back when he was that Sokka's eyes were closed tight, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

"It's all my fault. I couldn't save her. I couldn't hold on."

Aang looked up at Zuko tearfully as well, and Zuko sighed. Running his hand through his hair, the fire bending teen finally looked at Aang evenly.

"Nothing is for sure yet. Can you fly down there and look for her?"

Aang nodded, grabbing his glider and running toward the edge.

A few miles down stream, where the canyon tapered off into a low valley, a small tent was set up beside a tree. Underneath the tree knelt a girl in red armor, her dark hair pulled back away from her face.

Princess Azula of the fire nation was meditating as she watched the golden dawn light reflected on the river. She took a deep breath in through her nose, and exhaled quietly through her mouth. It was a standard exercise, but she found it helpful in the early morning to gather her strength for the day.

_Why don't I have them yet? I've been searching since spring, and I do not have the Avatar, my uncle, or my…_

"Surprise!"

Azula didn't jump, or show any outward sign that Tai Li had startled her, but her heart was racing a bit as her amber eyes snapped open to meet the grey eyes of her friend.

"Good morning, Tai Li," Azula said, forcing a smile onto her face. "Why are you up so early?"

"Mae and I are going to make you breakfast," Tai Li said with a grin. "Because we know what day it is."

"Oh really," Azula said dryly, deciding to play along. "And what day is that?"

Tai Li grinned at her, "why it's your sixteen birthday! Surely you haven't forgotten."

Azula had forgotten. Completely. With having to track everyone, she wasn't sure what day of the week it was, never mind what day of the month. Not, of course, that she would let anyone know that.

"I haven't forgotten," she said confidently. "I just didn't feel the need to bring it up."

"Why wouldn't you?" Mae asked, walking over to the pair. "If we were in the Fire Nation today, you'd be having a big celebration right now. A breakfast truly worthy of the Princess of the Fire nation as she comes of age."

_That's right,_ Azula thought bitterly. _I'm of marrying age now._ _I'll bet the noble men are most disappointed I'm not there to have my father choose my husband._ _Zuko always said he'd have to approve the choice…_

The thought of her brother stopped Azula's thoughts instantly. She had long ago trained herself to do that- after Zuko's banishment when the Fire Lord had told her to forget everything he'd ever done for her. Told her that the nice things Zuko had done had all been an act so he could later convince her to over throw the Fire Lord.

She would not betray her father. Never.

"I'll go get some water," Tai Li said, jumping to her feet, "and we'll have boiled eggs for breakfast. Doesn't that sound great?"

Azula and Mae didn't respond, but Tai Li didn't seem to expect them to. She walked over to the tent and picked up the bucket before heading toward the river's edge.

"I apologize that there aren't greater festivities for today, Princess Azula," Mae said, looking over at her companion. Azula smiled slightly at her.

"It's alright, Mae. We'll have all the festivities we need when we capture my brother and the Avatar."

Before Mae could respond to that, Tai Li let out a squeal.

"There's someone in the water!"

Mae and Azula both looked over at their energetic friend in time to see her wading into the water to get whatever she had seen. Azula looked at Mae, who simply shrugged.

They watched as Tai Li grabbed something they couldn't see clearly and dragged it toward the shore. Narrowing her eyes against the early morning light that was trickling into the valley, Azula managed to make out a long brown braid and a blue dress.

"It's the girl that travels with the Avatar," she said, getting to her feet and walking toward the shoreline as Tai Li dragged the limp girl onto the sand.

"Is she dead?" Tai Li asked, shaking the excess water out of her chestnut locks.

Azula reached down, her fingers expertly searching for a pulse. She found it, though it was weak. She shook her head at Tai Li. "She's alive, but barely."

"What do you want us to do with her?" Mae asked, reaching into her robe to pull out a dagger. Tai Li held up a hand to stop her.

"She might know where the Avatar is."

"The Avatar wouldn't have let her get into a state like this," Mae pointed out reasonably. "They must have split up."

"We won't know for sure until she wakes up," Azula said, standing up and walking back toward her spot under the tree. "Tie her up, but be sure that she's comfortable. It'll be much easier if she's…cooperative."

Zuko sighed mentally as he saw Aang approaching them again. The look on the monk's face meant anything but good news. He stepped back from the edge so Aang could land. Aang folded up his glider with a one handed spin before walking slowly over to Sokka. Zuko could see his eyes were red from crying as he knelt in front of the water tribe teen.

"Sokka?" He whispered, his grey eyes seeking the other boy's. Sokka looked up blurrily, his eyes not seeming to really focus on Aang. Aang bit his lip and stuck out his hand. Zuko could see blue ribbon sticking out the sides of his clench fist as he laid it in Sokka's palm. "I'm sorry…this was all I could find."

Aang pulled back his hand to reveal Katara's necklace now lying softly on Sokka's palm. Sokka didn't say anything as he clenched his fist around it, though fresh tears came to his eyes.

Zuko swallowed, looking up at the sky for a moment before walking over to Sokka's side and kneeling down beside him. "We need to move on. We have a mission we have to complete."

Sokka said nothing, and made no motion to move, so Aang spoke up softly.

"It's what Katara would have wanted."

Sokka looked at his closed fist before nodding and trying to stand. No sooner had he stood, however, than he swayed on his feet. Zuko reached out a hand to steady him, and pulled back when it in came in contact with something wet, warm, and sticky. He looked down at his hand to find it was covered in blood.

Surprised, he looked at Sokka before pulling Sokka's arm toward him. He hadn't seen it earlier, but there was clearly a deep gash on Sokka's arm near his shoulder. A deep gash that had the skin around it starting to turn black.

"Aang," Zuko said with forced calm. "I need one of the arrows they were shooting at us."

Confused, but knowing better than to question the Fire Prince, Aang ran a few feet away and got an intact arrow. He brought it to Zuko, who took it from him carefully. Running his fingers across the flat part of the arrow's head, Zuko pulled his fingers away to find them coated in a black powder.

"Poison," he said, bending down to wipe his fingers on the grass. "Just a little of this stuff will knock down a tiger-eagle. We need to get him to a village. Now."


	5. Sibling Rivalry

**A/N: **Sorry again about the long wait. Being home means that I try to limit my computer time so it doesn't interfere with family time. I'm still going to try and keep this story going, though, so just be patient and the updates will come. Also, I'm currently working on my fantasy novel, and when the mood strikes me that take precedence over my fan fiction. Sorry.

**_Chapter 4: Sibling Rivalry_**

* * *

Zuko grunted as he shifted Sokka's weight and pushed a tree branch out of his way. Dimly, he wondered how he'd gotten himself into this mess in the first place.

The trio hadn't been walking very far before Sokka collapsed completely, and since then Zuko had been carrying the shorter boy on his back; Sokka's arms looped over his neck and Zuko's arms under Sokka's knees. He could hear and feel Sokka muttering constantly in his new state of fever induced unconsciousness, and it was driving him crazy.

"How much farther to the next village?" Zuko yelled up into the treetops. Aang had been zipping a long up there in the hope of spotting a camp or something closer than the costal village they knew about. Aang dropped down next to him, shaking his head.

"It's still three days at best to reach the only one we know is there."

"He won't make it that long," Zuko growled, secretly admitting that neither would his sanity. "There must be something closer."

"What do you want me to do?" Aang snapped, the stress of the day starting to wear even his temper thin. The thought of losing both his friends was too much for him, and he felt frustrated that even though he was the Avatar he couldn't help them. "I can't magically summon up a city."

Zuko rolled his eyes. He was tired too, but he couldn't do anything about it. Sokka needed them to keep going if nothing else. "We'll have to try and reach it then. We don't have a choice."

Aang sighed in agreement, and dropped into line behind Zuko. They traveled in near silence for several minutes, the only sound between them being Sokka's rapid muttering.

"Zuko?" Aang asked quietly after several moments.

"Yeah?"

"We aren't going to find the ocean child, are we? All of this will be for nothing."

Zuko closed his eyes wearily, resisting the urge to point out to Aang that he and Sokka had said that all along. He knew it wouldn't help, and all he could do right now was keep Aang from giving up. "There's still a chance that we could find him. Maybe it will be easier than we think."

"You really think so?"

"Maybe."

If Aang was going to respond to that, Zuko never found out as something sharp went whizzing past his head. Zuko dodged, Sokka's added weight only slowing him down slightly. "What was that?"

Aang squinted through the quickly gathering dark but could see no one in the trees around them. He looked at the weapon that had been thrown, only to find it had vanished. Unconsciously, he pulled a little closer to Zuko so he could cover the older boy's back.

"I think we might be surrounded," Aang muttered, pulling his hands up to bend whatever became necessary.

"Great," Zuko muttered sarcastically, tightening his hold on Sokka so he could fight without losing him. "This couldn't be better."

Another shot came flying at them, and Zuko shifted his weight into a high kick that sent flame through the air. He and Aang got a brief glimpse of glowing eyes in the foliage around them before the fire faded and everything seemed to attack them at once.

* * *

Katara felt warmth on her face, and was momentarily confused. The last thing she could remember was being surrounded by ice-cold water she hadn't been expecting and hearing her brother screaming her name. She tried to move her arms and stretch, only to find that she couldn't.

She forced her eyes opened, and found that she was lying on her side by a fire with a pillow under her head. She could blurrily make out two shadowy figures just beyond the fire, whispering. Wherever she was, it wasn't in her camp.

She tried to wiggle and move, but found that her hands and feet had been tied. Closing her eyes again, she sighed, and began concentrating on trying to get her hands free.

"Hey," a bright voice said. "She's awake."

Katara felt someone grab the front of her shirt and pull her up into a sitting position. She opened her eyes to find herself staring into a set of amber ones. Katara drew in a sharp breath and pulled back.

"Azula."

The princess smiled pulling back away from her toward the fire again. "We're so glad you could join us, girl."

"What do you want from me," Katara growled, struggling to get her hands free. She felt a pair of hands grab her wrist and half turned so she could see. Mae smiled at her while still holding her tightly.

"Tell me where the Avatar is," Azula explained, leaning forward so her face was next to Katara's as well. Katara pulled back instinctively as the heat radiating off the other girl was uncomfortable.

"I don't know," Katara replied, thinking fast. "We split up to rally our troops for the final battle. Sokka and I came down this way…"

She stopped then, remembering the last time she had seen her brother. Remembering how much pain he'd been in, and the terror in his voice. _'What if they didn't reach him in time,'_ she wondered. '_What if he fell too, but wasn't as lucky as I was?'_

She looked at Azula now, trying to keep the terror off her face. It was evident that the other girl didn't believe her story.

"Please," she whispered, addressing the ground more than any of the girls around her. "My brother was in terrible danger when we got separated. I need to find him and make sure he's alright."

"Tell me," Azula said, inspecting her nails. "Why I should believe you."

"I have no reason to lie to you," Katara said quickly, looking up again. "If I knew where Aang was don't you think I'd tell you? My brother needs me, and I have better things to do than be your captive."

"You seem to care an awful lot for this brother of yours," Azula noted, her amber eyes narrowed.

"He's the cute one, right?" Tai Li spoke for the first time since noting Katara's movement. Azula turned to glare at her companion, and Tai Li had the good sense to look sheepish.

"Of course I do," Katara snapped at her, ignoring the interruption. "He is my brother. In the end, family is all you really have."

"Family is an illusion," Azula said coolly, running a hand along one of her bangs as if in thought. "They will betray you just as quickly as anyone else, you know. If your brother really cared about you, he would have come looking for you by now."

Katara took a deep breath. She would not let this girl get to her. If Sokka hadn't come looking for her that could only mean that he'd been stopped for some reason, which made her cause more urgent. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to summon to her mind everything Zuko had once told her about Azula. _'He said the Fire Lord raised her as a weapon. That she was never properly taught how to care about someone. That's why she can do what she does. She was trained to do it her whole life. I can't expect any mercy, and I can't fight all three girls off at once. I'm just going to have to appeal to any feelings she has left inside her.'_

Raising her head now, Katara looked at the older girl confidently. "You would know, wouldn't you? After all, you've betrayed your brother. You're going to simply give his life away for your own personal glory."

For a second, Katara thought she saw something change in Azula's eyes. Was the guilt she saw there? Anger? She couldn't tell, and it was gone to quickly for her to be sure it hadn't been a trick of the firelight.

"Zuzu," the princess said in a fake sweet voice, "is no brother of mine. He has brought dishonor on the royal family, and is nothing but an embarrassment to the Fire Nation. He is the one that betrayed **_me_**."

"But Zuko isn't the one that's hunting you."

Azula's pretty face contorted in a look of fury, "what would a Southern peasant possibly understand about honor?" She calmed down then, running two fingers along the bang she hadn't already done. "You know, if you hand over the Avatar, my brother, and my uncle I might consider sparing the lives of your family."

"If I knew where Aang was, it wouldn't matter if my family was already would it?" Katara shot back, half afraid of the truth she had spoken. It was almost a relief. If Sokka was dead, he couldn't be used as a bargaining chip against her. At the same time, the very thought made her sick.

Azula eyed her for a moment, amber eyes seemingly piercing into Katara's soul. It made the Waterbender shudder.

"You really do believe your brother is dead then," Azula whispered, her eyes never leaving Katara's face.

"Yes," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Azula nodded to her before standing up. "Release her, Mae. She's of no more use to us."

Tai Li and Mae both looked at their princess in surprise. They had never known her to release a prisoner before. Particularly when they were probably lying as this girl was now.

"Are you sure, Princess Azula?" Mae asked, only slightly releasing her hold on Katara's wrist.

"You will do what I say when I say it," Azula snapped angrily, and Mae obediently untied Katara with no further questions.

Katara got to her feet, staring at Azula with just as much amazement as the other two. "You…you're letting me go?"

"Go find your pathetic wretch of a brother. Save the world, if you think you can. You will fail in the end anyway." When Katara didn't immediately move, Azula shot flames at her feet.

Katara needed no more urging, and quickly raced off into the woods.

"What was that about?" Tai Li wondered, staring at Azula in amazement. Azula smiled.

"Pack up camp. We're following her to our prey."

* * *

Zuko ducked as another blast shot his way, and he scowled visibly as Sokka almost slipped from his grasp. Fighting an enemy he couldn't see was hard enough. Fighting with an unconscious boy nearly his own height on his back was nearly impossible.

"Got any brilliant ideas?" Zuko muttered to the Avatar at his side. Aang shook his head, even though Zuko couldn't see him in the dark.

"Short of revealing myself? No."

"You don't even know if they're friend or enemy," Zuko pointed out reasonably.

Whatever argument Aang may have made was cut off by a cry from the darkness.

"Stop! That's my son!"

Aang looked at Zuko, surprise on his face, "your dad?"

Zuko gave Aang a look of disbelief as a figure stepped out of the bushes. Aang lit a fire in his hand, and it revealed the tallest water tribe man either of them had ever seen. His blue eyes rested not on them, however, but on the boy on Zuko's back.

"What," Hakoda asked them darkly, "did you do to my son?'


	6. The Ocean Child Revealed

**A/N:** First of all, let me disclaimer this with one fact. I actually haven't got a clue what Sokka means. I cannot find anywhere a dictionary of Inuit names. If you know one, I'd love you forever if you gave me the link.

In the mean time, I figure my guess is as good as any. If it's not true…then I apologize but live with it.

Finally, this is a heck of a lot longer than I meant it to be. Gah! Special thanks to Angelique for helping me when I was stuck in the middle.

**_Part 5: The Ocean Child Revealed_**

"Dad."

Zuko and Aang both jumped, startled out of their aw for the large water tribe man by Sokka's first intelligible mutter in hours. Aang looked at his friend to find his eyes, with their pupils so dilated they looked black, were barely open wide enough to see. Even that seemed to have taken a great deal of effort as his skin had taken on a pasty look.

Aang looked again at the man, and could see his eyes had softened as he looked at the boy on Zuko's back. If Sokka had gone to that much effort when he'd heard the man's voice to come back to consciousness and see then he had to be whom he said he was.

The young airbender took a step forward, bowing low. "Hello, sir. I'm Aang…the Avatar."

The woods around the small clearing filled with whispers, and Zuko realized just how surrounded they had been. It was not a pleasant feeling, and Zuko shot a glare over his shoulder in the general direction of the trees.

Aang had lit a fire in his hand now, so they could see better, and the man frowned.

"Bato told me," he said slowly, "that my children were aiding the Avatar…"

"They must have been captured by that firebender," someone in the bushes shouted. This was accompanied by several yells of agreement, and Zuko suddenly found himself aware once more of the fact that not all the world would find it easy to forgive what his nation had done.

He clutched Sokka tighter; the idea of using him as a human shield for his back now seemed a very good one. "I didn't capture anyone!"

"Yeah," Aang said with a grin, "Zuko can't even catch a cold."

Zuko shot Aang a scathing look that screamed of revenge, but knew now would be a very bad time to attack the younger boy. No matter how it strained his self-restraint not to.

"Peace," Hakoda said. His tone was commanding, and all those who heard him fell silent. He fixed his eyes on Zuko and Aang again before landing once more on Sokka's gaunt face.

"If you're the Avatar, then who is he?"

"My Firebending teacher…" Aang said hesitantly, not wanting to give anything away that would send those spears flying their direction.

Zuko took a step forward, lifting his chin high. "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." He let the news sink in and took in the angry whispers before adding with a cocky smirk, "you've probably seen my wanted posters."

Aang sighed and rolled his eyes. They'd have to have gone into Fire Nation controlled territory for that, and they had no guarantee they had. Why did Zuko always insist on doing things the hardest possible way? "He's my friend, and I trust him."

Hakoda nodded, stepping forward and lifting Sokka off Zuko's back. Zuko was reluctant to give away his shield, but there wasn't much he could do about it anyway. Hakoda shifted his son so he was carrying him bridal style, ignoring Sokka's small groan of protest, before he addressed the rest of the group. "Bind their hands and blindfold them."

"What?" Zuko yelled, his eyes narrowing as twin flame daggers sprang to life in his hands. "We're trying to save your son's life and this is the thanks we get?"

"Zuko, don't do anything," Aang said, turning grey eyes to his friend. "I think I know what he has in mind."

With a growl of frustration, Zuko extinguished his flames. "You better be right about this, Avatar."

'_Yeah,_' Aang thought as he felt his hands being tightly tied behind his back. '_I had better be._'

It was with several more bumps and bruises than they'd started with that Aang and Zuko finally stumbled into the next clearing an hour later. They were disoriented from the many turns they'd taken, and Zuko could have sworn he'd once been lead into a tree on purpose in spite of the mumbled apology.

Apparently there had still been several people left at the camp, as there was a great deal of rustling around when they came in.

"Bato," Hakoda said from somewhere behind Aang, "I need to speak with you."

"Yes, my friend?" Asked a voice a head, and Aang grinned.

"Is this the Avatar?"

Aang found his blindfold removed and he was now looking up into Bato's smiling face.

"Hello, Aang," Bato said, turning his head as he looked at him. "We meet again."

This seemed to be enough of an answer for Hakoda. With a motion of his hand two of the men ran forward and untied Aang's hands.

"What about my friend?" Aang asked, getting to his feet and finding Zuko still completely bound.

"My apologies, Avatar," Hakoda said, sincerely. "But from experience, Firebenders cannot be trusted."

"Sokka trusts him," Aang blurted out. How that was supposed to help, with Sokka unable to attest to this fact, Aang had no idea. Still, he had felt it was the right thing to say and so stuck by it.

Hakoda met his gaze steadily for several long moments before nodding. "Release the fire bender as well."

There was some reluctance to follow this order, but it was proof of their faith in their chosen leader that the order was followed.

Hakoda walked over to the low burning fire, and lay Sokka down on one of the sleeping mats there as Aang and Bato followed. Hakoda skillfully removed his son's shirt, and Aang felt his stomach turn at what he saw there. The wound, which had first only been a deep gash surrounded by black, had gotten much worse over the last several hours. The wound itself had crusted over with what looked like brownish scales, and the black had spread- spider webbing away from the wound down his arm to the elbow, up his neck, and down the right side of his chest.

"It's a poisoned wound," Zuko said as he came over, rubbing his aching wrists. "We're trying to get to the next town to see if they can heal him."

"How long ago did this happen?" Hakoda's face was grim as he inspected the mark and wiped sweat from Sokka's forehead.

"Early this morning. We were ambushed."

"By fire nation soldiers."

Zuko nodded, even though he understood it wasn't actually a question.

Sokka's eyes peeked open again, focusing glassily up on his father's face. "I'm sorry, Dad. I tried to protect her. I tried…"

Aang and Zuko both looked down, neither wanting to be the one to have to volunteer the information Sokka certainly couldn't.

"I need a bowl of water and a cloth," was all Hakoda said after a moment. A couple of boys, probably only a few years older than Sokka, scrambled to do as he asked. When they returned a few minutes later, Hakoda placed the cloth on Sokka's forehead, using it to wipe away the heat just as Katara had done when Sokka had been ill after the storm. He did this three times before turning to look at the two boys who were intently studying their feet.

"He's talking about Katara, isn't he?"

"Yes, sir," Aang whispered, still refusing to look up even as Bato put a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened to my daughter?"

Aang swallowed as he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. "I…I can't…"

"During the attack," Zuko said, not looking directly at Hakoda. "It was chaotic. We were completely out numbered…"

"There was a bridge there," Aang took over, steeling himself to attempt to tell the rest of it. "It was old and breaking…"

"Sokka was injured then. Katara went back for him…"

"The bridge broke. Sokka caught her…"

"After that, I don't know…"

"She just…"

Zuko looked up to see something stumbling through the trees. He squinted into the trees in the moonlight, and could see something running toward them. Something with a long braid. "She's here!"

"What?" Aang asked, looking at over at Zuko.

"What?" Hakoda echoed, turning and following Zuko's line of vision. Sure enough, Katara dashed toward the firelight. Her face was red and her clothes torn, but otherwise she looked fine.

Aang dashed over, running and hugging Katara around the waist. "Katara, you're okay!"

"Aang!" Katara grinned, leaning over and giving the younger boy a hug in return. "I can't believe I found you!"

Zuko remained staring at her by Sokka's side as Hakoda got to his feet and went foreword. Katara looked up and could see her father coming toward her. She let go of Aang and ran to him, hugging him tight.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Katara muttered into her father's chest as he hugged her tight.

"I would appreciate it if someone would tell me what's going on," Hakoda said, running a hand along the back of her head.

"It all started out when we started to look for the ocean child," Katara began. Hakoda pulled back, looking down at her puzzled.

"Why would you be looking for him when he's been with you the whole time?"

Zuko, who had looked away to avoid seeing the tender family moment, looked back again with wide gold eyes. "What do you mean with us the whole time?"

Hakoda released his daughter to motion toward Sokka. Sokka was once again coated in sweat, and he was trembling slightly. Katara released her father to run to her brother's side.

"What happened to him? The arrow wound wasn't that deep!"

"It was poisoned," Zuko explained, still staring at both siblings. "What happened to you?"

"I was pulled out of the river by your sister," Katara responded, pulling the chain out from around her neck and looking at Zuko through the oasis water it still contained. "I told her that we'd separated to recruit people for the attack and that I only knew where Sokka was. She let me go."

Zuko frowned, cupping a hand under his chin. "Azula isn't one to just let people go…"

Katara ignored him, uncorking the small vial. With a trembling hand she pushed down the side of Sokka's shirt. She gasped, putting an hand over her mouth. Hakoda knelt beside her, once again wiping Sokka's forehead with the cloth.

"The poison seems to be spreading quickly."

"Zuko," Katara said, looking up at the prince, "I need you to reopen the wound."

"What?" Zuko gaped at her, effectively distracted from the contemplation of his sister's motives. "Are you crazy? You want me to reopen the wound, cause him a great deal of pain, and have it bleeding all over me?"

"I need an opening," Katara explained, placing a hand gently on Sokka's chest. Sokka hissed slightly in pain. Hakoda knelt beside his daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Nothing," Katara said, looking at him before looking at Zuko again. "Unless Zuko chooses to help me."

With a groan, Zuko unsheathed his swords and stepped foreword. He put the blade against the wound and grit his teeth.

"What's he…" Bato asked, stepping forward.

"I'm sorry, Sokka," Katara whispered. "I'm doing the best I can to save your life."

"Here goes," Zuko muttered, pulling back on the sword. Sokka cried out, his body jerking under Katara's hand as she tried to hold him steady. Hakoda's eyes widened, and he would have lunged at Zuko had Bato not grabbed him.

"Trust them, my friend," Bato whispered, holding onto Hakoda's parka. "I'm sure Katara knows what she's doing."

Once Sokka's breathing had evened out slightly, Katara leaned forward and poured a bit of the water into the open wound. With her free hand she concentrated on the water. In her mind's eye she called up the one lesson she had attended with Yugoda and the children of the North. It had been a lesson on healing internal injuries.

Closing her eyes, she imagined the mannequin they had used and the pathways through which the water had to travel. From the shoulder, down to his chest. Once there, Katara took a deep breath before releasing the water. She trusted the water, and knew it would do its job.

She opened her eyes and looked over at her dad, smiling slightly.

"You're a healer," Hakoda said slowly, looking from his daughter to his now visibly relaxed son. He could almost see the dead skin retreating.

"Yeah. It's something I learned on the way to the North Pole."

"It seems we've got much to catch up on," Hakoda smiled, gently resting a hand on Katara's head.

"Before that," Zuko protested, having finished cleaning up his sword and sheathed it, "you need to tell us what you meant by Sokka being the Ocean Child."

"It's a long story."

"We have time," Aang said. "We were told we can't defeat the Fire Lord without the Ocean Child, and if Sokka is him then…"

Hakoda and Bato exchanged glances before Hakoda motioned for the boys too sit. With one exchanged glance they did so, sitting down on either side of Katara.

"Katara you were to young when she died to remember your mother telling you this story. She told it many times to Sokka, and he would remember it if he chose.

Kira and I tried to have children for many years after we married, but with no success. It seemed as though we were destined never to have them, and the idea broke my young wife's heart. She began to pray nightly to the ocean spirit to bless us with a child. Sometimes I would join her, although I didn't think it mattered much to him.

Several months later, and Kira woke me up in the middle of the night. She'd said she had had a dream- a vision. The ocean spirit had come to her, and told her she was going to have a son. In him would reside the ocean's power, and his fate would be entwined with the rest of the worlds. Then he had kissed her, and she had awakened.

I was skeptical at first, but when it turned out she was going to have a child I kept these doubts to myself. Sokka was born exactly nine months later, and she named him Sokka- meaning Ocean's Power- as a reminder to him what he was supposed to be. That is why she died to protect him. She knew he was the Ocean Child."


End file.
